Support

In a recent New York Times story, a young man by the name of Philip Garber Jr. went public following an incident with his professor at County College of Morris in Randolph, New Jersey. According to the October 10th article, Garber was asked by one of his teachers at the college not to raise his hand during his history class, but rather to pose his questions before or after class to prevent disrupting the other students. He was asked this, according to Garber, because of his stutter. Following this request by his teacher, Garber raised his hand in class to ask a question and was ignored; and while Garber kept his hand raised for much of the 75-minute class he was never called on. This experience was confusing to Garber because he spent most of his academic years being homeschooled.

While stuttering can require patience on the part of both the listener and the speaker, it is important to note that individuals who suffer from stuttering are suffering from a disability. With PresenceLearning’s nationwide network of highly-qualified speech language pathologists (SLPs), students like Garber can receive treatment via live videoconferencing using the latest in evidence-based practices.

“One of the great things about telepractice is our flexibility. It is important to pair your child with the best possible person to provide them the treatment they need,” said Clay Whitehead, co-founder of PresenceLearning. “If we find that someone is not a best fit for a student, we have the ability to provide them with an alternative which is not always possible at a school.”

To learn more about stuttering, how it is diagnosed and tips on how to better communicate with a stutterer, visit: www.asha.org/public/speech/disorders/stuttering.htm